Apparatus for treating threads and yarns



Jan. 21, 1964 c. J. GONSALVES APPARATUS FOR TREATING THREADS AND YARNS Filed Oct. 26, 1959 CONRAD JOSEPH GONSALVCS IN VEN TOR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,118,790 APPARATUS FGR TREATING THREADS AND YARNS Conrad Joseph Gonsalves, Arnhem, Netherlands, assignor to American Ellkfi Corporation, Enka, N.C., a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 26, 1959, Ser. No. 848,598 Claims priority, application Netherlands Nov. 10, 1958 4 Claims. (Cl. 118-44) This invention relates to apparatus for treating threads and yarns and more particularly to apparatus for applying a finish to rayon threads and yarns for textile or tire fabric uses.

In the prior art, finish has been applied to threads and yarns by means of a finishing roller having a substan tially smooth surface. A finishing emulsion is applied to the surface of the roller at one point and the thread is brought into contact with the roller at another point. The thread or yarn passageway is such that it forms an acute angle with the axis of the roller.

It has been found that when threads or yarns and particularly twisted threads or yarns are finished by the above described method, the finish will not be evenly distributed. It is believed that this uneven distribution of finish is the result of the high absorption capacity of such threads or yarns, particularly when formed of rayon. This characteristic will cause the thread when it comes into contact with the finish emulsion on the roller to absorb the liquid at the point of cont-act but also cause it to absorb that liquid adjacent to its point of contact. Therefore, the next segment of the running thread will contact the roller surface on which some if not all of the finish emulsion has been removed by the preceding segment. Thus it can be seen that this segment will have less finish than the preceding or succeeding segments, with the result that the finish will be unevenly distributed throughout the thread or yarn. Such unevenness will cause difiiculties in the subsequent processing of the thread or yarn and should, if possible, be avoided.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a thread and yarn treating apparatus that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide a rayon yarn treating apparatus for evenly distributing finish throughout the yarn.

Another object of this invention is to provide apparatus for imparting rotation to yarn simultaneously with application of finish thereto.

A further object of this invention is to provide a treating apparatus by which twisted rayon yarn may be continuously untwisted to facilitate application of finish thereto.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a rayon thread and yarn finishing apparatus that utilizes a finishing roller to insure even distribution of finish throughout the thread or yarn.

It has now been found that these and other objects which will hereinafter become apparent to those skilled in the art may be accomplished by providing the yarn or thread contacting surface of the finishing roller with a covering of fine mesh gauze. A further improvement may be obtained if the yarn or thread is temporarily untwisted in order that it may be in an untwisted state as it passes over the finishing surface of the roller. It has also been found that even better distribution of finish is obtained if the yarn is rolled as it passes over the finishing surface of the roller.

It appears that when the finishing roller is provided with the aforementioned covering of fine mesh gauze, an obstacle is formed which prevents the running yarn or thread from absorbing the finish emulsion from areas 3,118,796 Patented Jan. 21, 1964 adjacent its point of contact. This, of course, insures that the next segment of yarn or thread will be able to contact a roller surface that still retains the finish emulsion. Therefore, this will result in a more even impregnation of finish emulsion into the yarn or thread.

It has been found that the mesh of the gauze may vary within wide limits. The only requirement is that the mesh not be too open to permit absorption from areas adjacent the point of thread contact. In determining the mesh of the gauze, consideration should also be given to the denier of the thread or yarn. Thus it can be seen that the finer the mesh the better the impregnation. For example, for yarns having a denier of 1750 or less, the mesh should have no more than openings per centimeter.

The gauze may be constructed of various non-corrodible materials such as stainless steel or bronze wire, with the preferred material being stainless steel. It should be understood that for best results, the gauze should be securely fastened to the roller as, for example, by welding or soldering, and that it should fit tightly on the roller. This will prevent the absorption and attrition of finish emulsion from under the gauze and thereby insure proper impregnation.

The finish used herein may be any textile finish desired. Examples are aqueous emulsions of lubricants.

The finish emulsion may be applied to the finishing roller by any method known to those skilled in the art. For example, it may be applied by spraying it onto the roller surface. In using such a method, the spraying should take place at a point which is at the greatest possible distance from the point of contact of the thread or yarn and the roller surface. This is to insure that the emulsion will have ample time to spread evenly over the roller surface. Another method of applying finish that may be used satisfactorily is to rotate the roller in a container of the finish emulsion in such a fashion that the lower portion of the roller is immersed in the finish emulsion. Other methods such as the two roller system may also be used equally well in this process and apparatus.

The angle at which the thread or yarn travels relative to the axis of the roller depends on the surface of the roller, the velocity of the thread or yarn, its denier, the amount and type of finish emulsion and the speed of the roller. The faster the speed of the roller and yarn, the smaller the angle should be. This is also true of the heavier denier yarns or threads. Thus at higher speeds of the yarn and where larger amounts of emulsion are to be impregnated therein, the angle of the yarn path relative to the axis of the roller should be small. At such conditions the yarn will" have greater contact with the roller surface and thereby will be able to absorb more finish emulsion. In addition, it has been found that the amount of emulsion that may be absorbed by the yarn increases with roller speed. It should be understood that the roller should not be rotated at such a high rate of speed that the emulsion is thrown off.

In addition, it has been found that the speed and evenness of absorption of the emulsion may also be affected by the degree of twist in the thread or yarn. It is therefore preferred to false detwist or temporarily untwist the twisted yarn continuously in order that it be in an untwisted or only partially twisted state as it passes over the finishing roller. Thus the finishing roller should be placed between the false detwisting device and the twist barrier which may be any conventional type such as a guiding rod or roller. The use of such false detwisting device and twist barrier, in addition to untwisting the thread or yarn, will impart a rolling or rotational movement to the thread or yarn as it passes over the roller surface. This rolling movement will thereby improve the finish impregnation.

The false detwisting spindle and supporting means may be any conventional false twisting spindle and supporting means such as those described hereinafter, or those disclosed in US. Patent No. 2,855,750, or British Patent No. 650,950, dated March 7, 1951. The false twist device should be rotated in the direction opposite that of the twist in the yarn or thread in order that the yarn may be temporarily untwisted or false detwisted. It is not necessary that the yarn or thread be completely untwisted, but the best results are obtained if it is in a completely untwisted state as it passes over the finishing roller. The false twist device may be motor or belt driven, or it may be driven by the movement of the yarn if such is strong enough, such as by a novel method hereinafter described.

This invention contemplates an apparatus comprising a driven finishing roller whose thread or yarn contacting surface is covered with a fine mesh gauze. Means are added to insure that the angle of contact of the thread or yarn relative to the axis of the roller may be adjusted as hereinbefore described. Such means may be adjustable thread guides, rollers, or other conventional means. In addition, the preferred device also includes a false detwisting device installed in such a fashion that the yarn is in an untwisted state when it contacts the surface of the finishing roller.

This invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view illustrating passage of yarn through a preferred embodiment of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the improved finishing roller of this invention;

FIGURE 3 is a front elevational view of a false twist spindle that may be used in this invention; and

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view of the false twist spindle of FIGURE 3.

Referring now to the drawings, reference number denotes a rotatable finishing roller which is driven by electric motor 11. The machine frame has not been illustrated for reasons of clarity, it being understood that it is of conventional design. Motor 11 may be any conventional drive means for rotating roller 10 and mayeven be eliminated if roller 10 is freely rotatable and driven by the yarn or thread movement. The peripheral or thread contacting surface 12 of roller 10 is provided with a covering of fine mesh gauze 13, which is secured to surface 12 by welding, soldering or other conventional means. Gauze 13 wraps completely around surface 12 and substantially covers this surface in order that finish emulsion may be absorbed by thread or yarn as it moves across the roller. The finish emulsion is supplied to roller 10 and gauze 13 by nozzle 14 which is connected to a conventional emulsion supply (not shown). The amount of finish that is supplied depends on the amount to be absorbed by the yarn and can be determined by conventional methods.

Yarn 15 is fed to the finishing roller 10 from a supply package (not shown, but which normally will be a bobbin) over a guide 16 and a yarn braking or tensioning device 17 in such a manner that it comes into contact with gauze 13 at a sharp angle a relative to the axis 18 of roller 10. See FIGURE 2.

Roller 10 is mounted in the path of a false detwisting device indicated generally by reference numeral 19. This device comprises a disc-like spindle 20 having an eccentric bore 21 and a threading-in slit 42 through which yarn 15 is passed to facilitate start-up operation. Spindle 20 is mounted in the throat or space 22 formed by the peripheral grooves 23 and 24 of two freely rotatable rollers 25 and 26, respectively. Spindle 20 is held in throat 22 and peripheral grooves 23 and 24 by pressure roller 43. By passing yarn 15 through eccentric bore 21, the rotating movement of spindle 20 is transferred to yarn 15, thereby untwisting the yarn. It should be understood that untwisting may be accomplished only if spindle 20 is caused to rotate in a direction opposite to the twist in the yarn.

Pressure roller 43 is also provided with a peripheral groove 28 into which spindle 20 is held and is rotatably mounted by means of a lever 29 pivotally supported on the frame 30 of false twist device 19. The pressure required to hold spindle 20 in throat 22 is provided by spring 27, the ends of which are conventionally connected to lever 29 and frame 30.

The yarn 15, after passing through eccentric bore 21, has the twist returned therein and is passed over guiding roller 31. Roller 31 is rotatably mounted on frame 30 by bracket 32 which bracket is secured to arm 33 attached to frame 30. Yarn 15 is thereafter passed around pulley 34 and thence to conventional collecting means (not shown).

Pulley 34 is secured to driving wheel 35 by connecting rod 36. Driving wheel 35 is rotatably mounted on a swing lever 37 which is movable about an axle 38 secured to arm 33 of frame 30. A spring 39 is secured to arm 33, near the point of contact of arm 33 and frame 30, and lever 37. The contraction of spring 39 causes the periphery 40 of driving wheel 35 to be pressed against one side or face 41 of roller 26. The tension exerted on thread or yarn 15 by the collection means (not shown) supports the action of spring 39.

In operation. yarn 15 is threaded in, as indicated above, and passed to the collection means. Motor 11 is started, thereby rotating roller 10 and finish emulsion is supplied through nozzle 14, by which the gauze 13 and surface 12 of roller 10 are covered with the finish emulsion. Collection means are then started which causes the thread 15 to move from the supply means (not shown) in the path as indicated above. The movement of thread or yarn 15 around pulley 34 causes it to rotate and thereby propel driving wheel 35 which in turn causes roller 26 to rotate. The rotation of roller 26 causes spindle 20 to rotate, thereby temporarily untwisting yarn 15 between spindle 20 and the twist stop on guide 16. Yarn 15, now temporarily untwisted, passes over the rotating finishing roller and absorbs evenly the desired amount of finish.

The following example is included merely for the purpose of illustrating the apparatus of this invention and is not intended as limiting the scope thereof.

Example A 1750 denier/ 1000 filament rayon yarn which had been twisted to approximately turns per meter was fed at 150 meters per minute to the device shown in FIGURE 1. An oil emulsion was supplied by nozzle 14 to roller surface 12 which had been covered with a stainiess steel gauze of a mesh of openings per centimeter. The axis 18 of the finishing roller 10 was mounted at an angle of 70 relative to the passageway of the rayon yarn 15. As a result, the rayon yarn 15 contacted the surface 12 and gauze 13 of roller 10 over a distance of 12.5 mm. Rollers 26 and 34 and wheel 35 were of such a size that the spindle 20 was rotated at 80 r.p.m. for each meter of traveling yarn. Therefore the spindle Z0 rotated at a speed of 12,000 r.p.m. The finishing roller rotated at a speed of 30 r.p.m. and the finish was supplied at 0.8 cc. per minute at a point 270 from the point of yarn contact. Upon examining this rayon yarn under ultraviolet light, it was found that the finish was applied to each segment of the yarn, whereas without the aid of either the fine mesh gauze or false detwisting device, it was found that the finish application was very uneven. In addition, it Was found that the use of both resulted in a more even distribution than when only one device was used.

From the foregoing, it should be evident that this invention greatly improves the impregnation of finish on threads and yarns. It should be understood that many modifications may be made in this invention without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. For

instance, this apparatus may be used not only for rayon threads and yarns, but for other threads and yarns, such as polyesters and nylon. This invention may be used for the finishing of both textile and tire yarns and threads and it may be used equally well for any treating process in which a low viscosity liquid is to be applied to such threads and yarns. In addition, it is also possible to use yclons for the detwisting step. Yarn to be detwisted is fed along the center line of the cyclons which may be of the axial or tangential type. The tangential type is preferred because the air under pressure is supplied through channels which exit tangentially at the thread supply into the space comprised of the inner wall of the aperture or its extension.

It should be understood that further modifications may be made Without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention which is to be limited only by the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for treating yarn comprising yarn supply means, a finish applicator roller, said roller being provided with a surface covering of fine mesh gauze, means for bringing yarn into contact with said surface covering, means for supplying finish to said surface covering, means collecting said yarn, and means positioned between said roller and said collecting means for continuously untwisting yarn contacting said surface covering.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said surface covering has a mesh of less than 130 openings per centimeter.

3. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said last named means comprises a false twist spindle, a plurality of freely rotatable rollers supporting said spindle for rotation, a freely rotatable drive wheels engaging one of said rollers and operable to impart rotation thereto, and a yarn engaging pulley formed integral with said drive roller, whereby longitudinal travel of said yarn in engagement with said pulley imparts rotation to said spindle through said drive roller and the aforesaid supporting wheel.

4. An apparatus for treating twisted yarn comprising means for supplying twisted yarn, a finish applicator roller provided with a surface covering of fine mesh gauze, means for applying yarn finish to said applicator roller, means for passing said twisted yarn into contact with the peripheral surface of said finish applicator roller, means for continuously rotating said yarn in an untwisting direcion to remove twist from yarn contacting said surface, and means for coilecting said yarn while restoring the twist thereto.

References Citetl in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 508,595 Barrett Nov. 14, 1893 562,249 Scott June 16, 1896 874,287 Bayne et a1 Dec. 17, 1907 1,251,032 Hoover Dec. 25, 1917 1,281,940 Goedike Oct. 15, 1918 1,804,366 Berger et al May 5, 1931 2,025,079 Whitehead Dec. 24, 1935 2,464,536 Solliday et al Mar. 15, 1949 2,627,480 Heizer Feb. 3, 1953 2,855,750 Schrenk et al Oct. 14, 1958 

1. AN APPARATUS FOR TREATING YARN COMPRISING YARN SUPPLY MEANS, A FINISH APPLICATOR ROLLER, SAID ROLLER BEING PROVIDED WITH A SURFACE COVERING OF FINE MESH GAUZE, MEANS FOR BRINGING YARN INTO CONTACT WITH SAID SURFACE COVERING, MEANS FOR SUPPLYING FINISH TO SAID SURFACE COVERING, MEANS FOR COLLECTING SAID YARN, AND MEANS POSITIONED BETWEEN SAID ROLLER AND SAID COLLECTING MEANS FOR CONTINUOUSLY UNTWISTING YARN CONTACTING SAID SURFACE COVERING. 